Bugs, Beavers, Dogs, and Ducks

today i thought that a nice leisurely trip would probably be better than struggling with a new design. i just wasn't feeling creative and decided not to try and force it. Plus, i have been wanting to get back into the lake tributaries again ever since my last trip there a few weeks ago.

it was a beautiful morning. the air was cool, but not cold, there was a gentle breeze, and the lake, as far as i could tell, was completely empty. the only one fishing this morning at 7am were ducks and geese. it took about 10 minutes to cross the lake, and another 5 minutes to make my way back to the dock by the park. i was surprised at the amount of algae and weeds that had grown in the area in the last 2 and a half weeks. areas that were completely clear then were now so crowded with vegetation that it was difficult to see the top of the water. i thought about ending the trip there and just circling the lake instead, but decided to press-on and see how far i could get.

After passing the dock i came to a fork in the stream. last time i went to the right. this time i went left. if the maps on google were correct they should come back together. and as i recall from the last trip, i did see a spot where it may have been possible. after paddling a little way i noticed what looked like a small lagoon to the left and decided to go check it out. it was pretty cool, but very overgrown with weeds. after accidentally scaring some ducks, i noticed a bunch of bare sticks and logs littering the entryway. on closer examination i realized that the bark had been stripped by a beaver. so, maybe the thing that i saw last time was a beaver after all and not in fact a muskrat. i guess i'll never know for sure, but this was sure some good evidence for the beaver argument.

after snapping a few pictures i decided to see how far into the lagoon i could get pushing through the weeds and lilies. it turned out to be about 6 feet. as i started through the weeds i felt something on my arms. i looked down and saw thousands of little tiny bugs all over the place. they were on the kayak, they were on my, they were everywhere. apparently the were living on the lilies and when i went through they decided to jump on board. i back paddled as quick as i could and started brushing them off. banging the kayak with the paddle scared a lot of them off, but not all of them.but, i was more worried about the ones on me anyway. i decided not to try to go through the lilies again and headed back out of the lagoon and continued on my original path. i eventually came to a sharp bend around which i found a bridge and a house. a house with 3 dogs that are probably not used to people paddling by. two were tied up and just barked, but one was loose and thought it necessary to stand on the bridge and bark at me the entire time that i was passing under the bridge. i must say that it was a little intimidating. it was a big dog. it wasn't very far past the bridge that i finally came to a dead end. this was almost to the point where i was supposed to meet back up with the other forked stream, but i was definitely not making it through. it was completelyovergrown with cat tails and reeds. it was a good time to turn around anyway. i took to long messing around in the lagoon and was already behind schedule. the trip back was uneventful. when i made it back to the lake i finally splashed off the rest of my little buggy hitchhikers and then paddled like crazy to make it back to the car in time to make it to work.

it looks like there is one more tributary to the lake. i'll have to try that one next time.

Today's Stats and Map

Teddy Bear Picnic

so, yesterday was pretty busy. two of our kids had a doctor's appointment, our youngest had her teddy bear picnic (kindergarten orientation), and since both my wife and i were taking the day off of work so that we could make it to the picnic we decided to go to Waldameer in the afternoon. since i wasn't going in to work and the i ddin't need to do the kid's stuff until 10am i decided that it would be a prefect morning to go kayaking.

in honor of our daughter going to kindergarten and our last teddy bear picnic i decided to do a teddy bear design. the day before yesterday i figured out a great bear design. the sketches look pretty cute, but the finished project looks more like a grumpy old bear that has seen better days. i don't know what my problem was yesterday. maybe it was because i haven't been kayaking enough lately or maybe i was just having an off day. whatever the reason, i had a very hard time keeping myself on course. that and the fact that i had to work around three fishing boats that all happened to be in key location made the cute little teddy bear very grumpy.

it started out well enough, but after making the first fishing boat adjustment i realized that i was quickly running out of room. i ended up squeezing the right side of the head to get it to fit in the lake. after that, it all went downhill.

looking at it now, it actually turned out better than i expected when i was making it. it is no where near as cute as i intended it to be when i designed it, but it is a lot better than i thought it would end up when i was struggling to make it. i think this may be one that i need to try again someday.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

p.s.  oh right... a busy day. i didn't post this yesterday because after kayaing at 6am, a doctor's appointment, the teddy bear picnic, an unscheduled trip to Claytopia, and an afternoon at Waldameer i was dead tired and had a screaming headache. it's not just because i'm lazy. although that is usually the case.

Happy Birthday

Sunday was my birthday. i turned the ripe ol' age of 33. it was a good birthday. busy, but good. for my birthday, my lovely wife got me an iPod. i've never had an iPod before. i usually just listen to music on the computer, on cds in the car or i just listen to the radio. but, so far, i am really enjoying having an iPod. i tell you this because the iPod is also the reason that i have not kayaked for the last two days. both monday and tuesday mornings ideal mornings to kayak. the weather was nice and we had someone to watch the kids. the problem is that i have a lot of music on my computer and i have been trying to organize it in my iTunes library. for the last three nights i have stayed up late trying to get the correct songs onto the correct albums with the correct covers etc., etc., etc. most of the albums that i have were compiled from various sources and not all of them have the same information. needless to say, it is taking a while to sort everything out. and since i have been staying up late, i have not wanted to get up early to go kayaking.

so, last night i didn't stay up quite as late and got up extra, extra early because i had to figure out how to load the kayak onto a different vehicle. my father-in-law is currently working on my car. and until he is finished i am borrowing his van. it didn't turn out to be a very big deal. i was able to load it without any trouble and in about the same amount of time as normal. but since it took me about a half an hour to load it on my car the first time, i thought it would be nice to give myself a little extra time just in case it ended up taking that long to load it on the van for the first time.

now fun stuff... since sunday was my 33rd birthday i decided to just make a giant "33." this was the first time that a design turned out to be easier than i expected. everything just seemed to fall into place without any trouble. i kept thinking that the hard part was coming up, but it never did. and, in the end, i think that it turned out pretty well. the only problem that i had was at the beginning. when i started out into the water i noticed that my gps was tracking my movements in the correct direction, but not in the correct location. it had me positioned in the middle of Lakeside Drive. now, i'm good, but i can't paddle on dry land. i've tried. its a great workout, but not very fun. all it took was a quick reset to get the gps, and me, back on track. the whole design only took about 30 minutes to complete so, after i finished, i paddled down to the 6N bridge to use up the rest of my time. all-in-all, it was a really good day. now if i can only get my iTunes library straightened out...

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Up a Creek

this morning, with a fresh battery, the car started beautifully and i headed out to the lake right on schedule. for the entire ride i tried to decide which design to do. but, after i got out on the water i decided that i just wanted to paddle around. the water seemed clean and clear i wanted to see if some of the tributaries on the northern end were clear enough to traverse.

I had gone up one of the streams before on one of my first kayaking trips to the lake but, i didn't end up going very far. the water looked really nasty, and it also looked like it was a dead end. but after looking at some google maps i was surprised by how many different nooks, crannies and streams there were once you got past the park on peninsula drive. ever since then i have wanted to get back in there and see how far you could actually go up some of those streams. but by that time the water had begun to fill with algae and weeds. i tried going a few times, but never even made it to the park. i was probably just being a wimp, but i really didn't want to get into all that nasty water.

in the last few weeks the water seems to have gotten better. maybe its all the rain we have been getting, maybe it is something else. whatever the reason, the water this morning was probably as good as i can expect it to get, so i gave it a try... and it was great.

as i passed the dock at the park something ahead of me in the middle of my path caught my eye. at first i thought it was just part of a log sticking out of the water. but, after doing a double-take, i realized that it was moving... and it had eyes. so naturally i freaked out a little bit. it saw me at about the same time i saw it and it dove below the surface. my first guess as to what it was, was a beaver. i grew up around beaver ponds and the brief glimpse i got of this fella looked a lot like a beaver. i didn't think there were any beavers in the area, but i decided it was possible that there was a dam around that i just wasn't aware of. i wish i could have taken a picture. anyway, after my heart stopped racing i continued up the stream. i made it almost 7/8 of a mile before i came to a log blocking the way. i probably could have squeezed around the left hand side but, it was time to turn around anyway. it had taken me about 30 minutes to get there and i only had about 30 minutes to get back and load up or else i would be late for work.

the trip back was pretty uneventful. very pretty, but uneventful. as i neared the dock at the park i went on "beaver patrol." but i didn't see it again. and on the long trip back across the lake to the car i decided that maybe what i had seen was a muskrat. i wasn't exactly sure what one looked like, but it made more sense than a beaver. and ,after googleing muskrat after i got to work, i'm pretty sure that that is what i saw. although, saying that i saw a muskrat doesn't have the same ring to it as saying that i saw some beaver out on the lake this morning.

i can't wait to go back there again. maybe next time i'll start from the dock at the park. that way i can have a lot more time to explore and i don't have to worry about the 30 minute round trip across the lake. what a great day to kayak.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Two Mile Run

last night the kids stayed with my in-laws. so, tonight after work we went to pick them up. my father-in-law helps out with the local boy scout troop and tonight they were canoeing at Two Mile Run. we met them there and went out canoeing with the kids. we didn't take a long trip, but it was still a lot of fun. it was nice to go out somewhere other than edinboro lake. but, i will say this—canoeing is a lot harder than kayaking. the boat is bigger, heavier, less stream-lined, and there are a lot more wasted movements in between strokes. it was fun, but it felt like a lot more work.

we also got a new battery for the car and we got home in time for me to install it before it got too dark. so, tomorrow morning i'll be good to go. plus, our neighbors are watching the kids tomorrow. so, if i can stop watching Family Guy and go to bed at a decent time i'll be able to get up early and go kayaking in the morning. sweet.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Dead Battery

so, this morning i got up early, got everything ready to go kayaking, went out to the car, turned the key and... nothing. i had a dead battery. i was able to jump start it with my wife's van, but decided to skip kayaking this morning. i didn't want to get to the lake, have a nice relaxing trip, and then get back to shore to find that the battery didn't hold a charge and was dead again. the lake is pretty quite at 8am and i thought that it may be hard to get a jump.

turns out that was a good plan. when i got to work this morning i pulled into a spot and shut off the engine. i then immediately tried to start the car... nothing. the battery hadn't held a charge and was dead. but at least here at work i'm sure that i can get a jump start to get home. it probably would have been harder this morning at the lake.

the plan is to get a new battery tonight. but, i'm not sure if i'll make it out tomorrow morning to kayak. i may have to bring the kids to work. and if that's the case i can't leave early to kayak. friday is questionable too. this may end up being a dry week. bummer... stupid battery.

Bright Idea

yesterday i took some time to sit down and actually come up with some design ideas. after the horrible outcome of my last unplanned design i decided that i really needed have a game plan before i hit the water. so after scribbling down half a dozen different possible designs i picked the best one and planned to do it this morning. there really isn't a whole lot to say about it other than that. it was a beautiful, clear, quiet morning on the lake. the design idea worked well with only a few minor glitches and i ended up having a wonderful time. it was a great day to go kayaking.

probably the best part about planning the designs yesterday (aside from not ending up with a crappy looking design this morning) is that i now have four or five more possible designs to work with. some are better than others and some still need to be refined. but the next time i'm heading to the lake with no clear plan i can pull out one of these babies instead of trying to come up with something from scratch.

and maybe next time i'll be green and do a cf light bulb.

Today's Trip Stats and Map

Karma

i really didn't feel like kayaking this morning. i didn't sleep well last night and i was really tired. plus i had to get up extra early this morning to get a shower because i didn't get one last night. i seriously considered just staying in bed, but i decided that, since it had been 5 days since i last went out, i really should go. by the time i got in the car and left the house i was feeling a lot better about going kayaking and decided that i should probably do a design ,since it had been 5 days since the last one. i really just wanted to go casual, but decided that i really should try and come up with some kind of design.

before i go any further let me just say that, so far, in my experience when a design starts out like this—planned in the car on the way to the lake—it usually ends poorly. that and the fact that my head really wasn't in the game this morning are the reasons for the crap that follows.

all i can say is that a quarter of the was through this design i almost turned off the gps and quit. i could tell by then that it wasn't going well. i did end up finishing it, but only half-heartedly (its the suits in a deck of cards if you can't tell because its so bad). in hindsight i should have just kayaked for the sake of kayaking. gone out on the lake, paddled around, and relaxed. as it was, i ended up feeling more stressed out and worse that when i started. it sucked. i like kayaking because it is a way to get away from everything, relax, and clear my head. that is the opposite of what happened today.

lesson learned: don't force it. just let it all come naturally... oh yeah, and plan ahead (i thought i already learned that one).

next time will be better... it can't possibly be worse... right?

Today's Trip Stats and Map